Vertigo
by arcaneocean
Summary: Rose Young has no memory of the first eighteen years of her life. Everything is just blank. Her only clue as to what happened to her is the tattoo on the inside of her arm, reading 'Project Cadmus.' As she tries to grow accustomed to the world, she discovers that Cadmus left more than just a tattoo behind. She can do things that are impossible, and she's not the only one to notice.
1. Prologue: The Beginning

**I do not own the DCEU.**

 _"_ _He roller-coaster, he got early warning_

 _He got muddy water, he one mojo filter_

 _He say, "One and one and one is three"_

 _Got to be good looking 'cause he's so hard to see_

 _Come together, right now,_

 _Over me._ _"_

 _—_ _Come Together performed by Gary Clark Jr._

* * *

 **Brooklyn, NY, 2005**

It was pouring rain in Brooklyn that night. In a back alley, a young girl awoke with a gasp. Sitting up, she looked around, looking at her surroundings before looking at herself. With a shiver, she realized she only wore a hospital gown. Her hair was cropped close to her head, and she wore a bracelet on her wrist. She studied it. It had a picture of a girl (she assumed it was herself), and it said:

 _Rose Jin Young_

 _DOB: 01/23/1987_

 _Experiment No. 001_

Rose (was that her name? She had no idea) swallowed and stood up on shaky legs. Should she get help? Could she trust people to help her? She didn't know what to do—

"Hey! Kid!"

Jerking her head up, Rose locked eyes with an older man, who had enter the alley through the back door of one of the shops with a black bag in his hand. He was tall and broad, and Rose knew he could probably overpower her easily. Slowly, she backed away, making her way toward the entrance to the alley. Her eyes were so wide it hurt, and she was shaking like a leaf.

The man slouched a little bit, holding his hands out in front of him. "Hey, I—" he cleared his throat "—I'm not gonna hurt you, kid."

Rose allowed some of the tension to leave her body, but her shoulders remained hunched, and she remained on the tips of her toes, ready to bolt if needed. Her bare feet felt cold against the wet concrete as she neared him. Her heart was racing, and her breath came in quick bursts.

"Y-you're not?" She rasped, her throat aching. Her hands made fists and fell limp again.

The man shook his head rapidly. "Jesus, of course not!" He sighed, rubbing his hand over his face. "Just—why don't you come inside? My wife'll know what to do better then I would."

Hesitantly, Rose nodded and allowed herself to approach the man.

"What's your name?" He asked her, not unkindly. "I'm Nathan."

Rose said nothing, opting instead to just show him her bracelet.

Nathan swallowed. "Rose? That's your name?"

Shrugging, she murmured, "I, I think so."

"Do you not know?"

Rose shook her head timidly. "No." At this point, she didn't really know much of anything, other than the man before her was Nathan, she was Rose, and she was absolutely, utterly, lost.

Nathan sighed again. "Okay, alright." He pushed the door open wider, tossing the black bag he held in his hand in the large bin along the wall of the alley. "Come in. Hurry."

As she scurried in, Nathan shut the door behind her.

"Emily!" Nathan called loudly as they entered into a large room, filled with a sweet smell of something baking. It was lined with large metal containers of different sizes and shapes, and Rose looked around in wonder.

"What is it?" A woman's voice called from another room.

Nathan glanced to Rose. "You might just have to see this one, Em!"

Suddenly, a woman appeared at the door. She was tall and dark, and Rose was immediately on guard again. The woman, Emily, looked between Rose and Nathan a few times before her gaze settled on Nathan.

"Nathan, hun," she began, "I love you, but what the fuck?" She strode over to Rose, examining the younger woman. "Where did you find her?" A beat. "You didn't _kidnap_ her, did you?"

"Jesus, Em!" Nathan snapped. "Of course not! She was passed out in the alley. I think she's an amnesiac."

Emily groaned. "Are you serious, Nathan?" She demanded. "That's ridiculous!" She grabbed Rose's hand, prepared to drag the younger girl back out into the rain, ignoring the pure terror all but radiated off of her. "If she's dressed like this, she probably escaped from the loony—oh, my god—" Emily wasn't looking at either of them now, but she was looking at the inside of Rose's arm. "What the hell does this mean?" She murmured.

Rose followed where Emily was looking, and her eyebrows furrowed. On the inside of her arm was two words, inked in thick black letters:

 **Project Cadmus**

"What does that mean?" Nathan asked. He and Emily looked to Rose.

"I, I don't—" Rose swallowed, feeling lightheaded. "I don't know." She stumbled back, grabbing onto a counter to stable herself, and slumped against the wall. "I can't remember, I-I don't—"

Emily quickly placed her hands on the girl's shoulders. "Hey, hey, hey," she said, her voice oddly soothing. "It's okay, honey, it's gonna be okay. We'll help you, don't worry."

Looking up into the older woman's eyes, Rose allowed a sliver of hope into her mind. Things would be okay. Right?

None of them noticed how the counter Rose had grabbed onto now had two distinct hand-shaped dents.

* * *

 **security_feed_alley**

 _It was a tinny security camera right outside of the apartment complex that picked it up. A young woman walked with an older couple down the sidewalk, when they were pulled into an alley and cornered by two men. There was no sound on the security feed, but it was obvious that the men were looking for money. The taller man waved a gun between the three future victims, yelling something. The young girl sighed and said something back, but she apparently said the wrong thing because the man turned the gun on her and fired four shots into her stomach._

 _But the bullets merely bounced off of her, ricocheting into the alley walls. The men stepped back in fear, but this time the woman came after them. She yelled something at the older couple, and the two reluctantly ran away. Satisfied, the woman turned back to the two men. She grabbed the first by the shirt collar, picked him up with one hand and threw him into the wall, knocking him out cold. The second man tried to run, but she stuck her leg out, allowing him to trip and land face-first onto the ground. She picked him up and landed a punch to the head before tossing him like a rag doll next to the other man._

 _She straightened herself, dusting her jeans off before looking right into the camera. Kneeling back down, she picked up a small pebble, tossing it up and down in her hand a few times. She glanced back up to the camera and threw the pebble with a force that ruined the feed entirely._

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Ooh, new story! I hope you guys like it! I saw Aquaman in theater the other day, and it was amazing! I just couldn't help myself. This's gonna start with Justice League, and then go into Aquaman, and then maybe into Rose's own plotline. I hope you guys enjoy this!**


	2. Everybody Knows

**I do not own the DCEU.**

 _"_ _Everybody knows that the boat is leaking,_

 _Everybody knows that the captain lied_

 _Everybody got this broken feeling,_

 _Like their father or their dog just died_ _."_

 _—_ _Everybody Knows by Sigrid_

* * *

 **Brooklyn, NY, 2008.**

It didn't take long for Rose to grow on Nathan and Emily Miller. The older couple had always wanted a child, and even though Rose was almost an adult already, there was a lot for them to teach her. Losing eighteen years' worth of memories can do that to you. Unfortunately, the three could never figure out what Project Cadmus was, or what they had dumped Rose on the side of the road. What they had figured out, however, was that Cadmus had left another mark aside from the tattoo on her arm.

Rose was a metahuman.

It didn't take long for them to find out that Rose was a metahuman. The dents she left in the kitchen of their bakery was one thing, but it was another when she had lifted their entire fridge in order to grab the quarter she had dropped. Or when she accidentally sliced her fingers when attempting to cut vegetables, and the knife broke in two.

Nathan and Emily had handled the situation surprisingly well, all things considered. They had taken it all in stride, and Rose knew that she could never thank them enough.

"Everybody's different," Emily had said when Rose had confronted her about it one day. Shrugging, she continued, "You can't help it, kid. That's just part of you. Best you can do is roll with the punches, and learn to throw a few of your own."

That was another thing. Even though Emily and Nathan both primarily owned and worked in their bakery, Cake Walk, but Emily also volunteered at the nearby martial arts studio. Every Friday, she would go and help to teach some classes, and she eventually began taking Rose with her.

"Hurry up, kid!" Emily called to Rose from where the younger girl stood in the kitchen. "We're gonna be late!"

Dusting her hands off, Rose yelled back, "Gimme a second!" She glanced back to where the bowl of cake batter sat. One of the first things Emily and Nathan had taught her was how to bake, and she had picked it up surprisingly easily. She untied her blue-and-white checkered apron and draped it on the counter before she scurried out of the kitchen.

"There you are," Nathan said, a slight grin on his face. "We were about to leave without you."

Rose snickered. "Yeah, okay. Let's go, then."

Flipping the sign on the door from 'Open' to 'Closed,' the trio locked the door to the bakery and walked down the darkening Brooklyn streets. They didn't have a care in the world.

Unfortunately, as we all know, anything that can go wrong, will.

And that is exactly what happened.

They had made it three blocks, maybe four, when a group of at least five men cornered them by an alley.

"We don't want any trouble," Nathan began, trying to diffuse a potential disaster.

The tallest man in the group chuckled. "But we do," he said, mock pouting. Glancing back, he nodded at his men, who immediately flew into action. They grabbed Nathan and Emily, and another man shot Rose three times in the face. It didn't even knock her over, but it stunned her enough for him to turn his gun to Nathan and Emily, shooting both of them once in the stomach each. They only had time to glance at each other before they fell to the ground. Rose felt her heart drop alongside them.

Carefully, Rose lifted the two and propped them up against the wall. She looked back to the group behind her.

"You have three seconds to get the hell out of my face," she said lowly, clenching her fists. "If I see you again, I won't hesitate."

The men didn't waste time, quickly scurrying out of sight. Satisfied, Rose turned her attention back to her surrogate parents.

"It's gonna be okay," she said quickly, not really sure who she was talking to at this point. Fumbling with her purse, she grabbed her phone to dial nine-one-one.

 _"Hello?"_ Came the voice on the other end. _"Nine-one-one, what's your emergency?"_

"Please help," Rose begged, tears beginning to well in her eyes. "We-we were mugged, these guys, they came out of nowhere, and, and they just stabbed them!"

 _"Please give us your location, ma'am, and help will be there as soon as possible."_

Rose told them and hung up, turning her attention back to Emily and Nathan.

"You're going to be okay," she told them. _Ordered_ them. "Y-you have to be."

Emily let out a short, weak laugh. "Hey, hey, kid. Calm down."

"Calm down? I—you—"

"We'll be okay, Ro," Nathan said, his voice uncharacteristically soft. "Everything's gonna be fine."

But as tears began to stream down Rose's face and as the sound of sirens grew closer and closer, Rose had a sinking feeling.

* * *

 **Brooklyn, New York, 2017**

Rose wiped her forehead, accidentally smearing flour across her face. Biting her lip, she glanced at the clock. _How was it only four-thirty?_

Suddenly, the bell tied to the door chimed, startling Rose from her thoughts.

"Hi," she called, even though she was in the kitchen and couldn't see whoever came in. "Welcome to Cake Walk! I'll be right there!" She hurried into the main room of the bakery, standing behind the counter. There was a tall, beautiful woman standing there, inspecting the baked goods behind the glass closely.

The woman stood up when she noticed Rose. "Hello," she said, her voice holding an accent Rose couldn't quite place. "My name is Diana."

Bemused, Rose allowed herself to flash Diana a small smile. "Well, I'm Rose. Is there anything I could get you?"

Diana gave a small smirk. "There is something, but I don't think we're thinking of the same thing."

Rose smiled again, but this time it was tighter, and her jaw was clenched. "Oh?" She asked, discreetly reaching below the counter. If Diana was saying what she thought she was saying, then she would need—

"Calm down, Rose," Diana said, interrupting her thoughts. "I mean you no harm. I've heard a lot about you, you know."

Rose scoffed, crossing her arms. "You know nothing."

Diana nodded her head from side to side. "I know enough," she replied simply. "I know you've lost people. I know the feeling. It hurts, doesn't it?"

Pursing her lips, Rose's thoughts drifted to Nathan and Emily. There wasn't a day where she didn't think about the only people she ever loved in the world, where she didn't regret doing more than she had.

She swallowed. "I—something like that. But, riddle me this—does the hurt ever go away?"

Diana said nothing for a moment, opting instead to glance to the side. "As soon as I have an answer for you, I'll let you know," she said eventually. "But, that's not what I'm here to talk to you about."

"Okay, then what is it? I don't read minds."

Smiling coyly, Diana said, "Well, that one I knew." She glanced around the bakery, making sure it was completely empty. "Something big is coming, bigger than you can imagine. And if someone doesn't stop him, then—"

"I'm going to stop you right there," Rose interrupted, holding up her hand. "Okay, I'm going to assume that you're not asking me to take on whoever this is _alone,_ because that's just suicidal, from what it sounds like." At Diana's nod, Rose continued: "And, if you _have_ heard of me, you'd know that I've stuck to Brooklyn. I don't like new places."

Diana sighed. "Rose, if you don't help, I'm sorry, but there won't _be_ a Brooklyn anymore."

Rose closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Okay. So what _is_ this thing, exactly?"

"His name is Steppenwolf," was Diana's grave answer. "He wishes to destroy the world, to conquer it, and unless we stop him, he will succeed."

Rose looked from Diana, over to the cash register, where she had a picture of Nathan and Emily framed. Looking back at Diana, Rose sighed. "I must be fucking crazy," she began, "but I'm in."

Diana grinned. "Glad to hear it."

* * *

It was dark when they finally arrived in Gotham City. Rose and Diana stood on a runway, next to a very large plane. Next to it, a very nice car was being lowered down on a platform. Rose noted that the car looked like it cost more than her entire apartment building. The two men standing next to the car stepped off, and Rose eyed them uneasily, shifting her grip on the duffle bad she had on her shoulder.

"Did you find the Cyborg?" The taller man asked Diana. He was dressed in incredibly expensive clothes, and if Rose had to guess, she'd say he was the one running this show. He had that air about him that seemed rather... _pompous,_ to put it nicely. She knew that Emily would've loved to make fun of him.

"We spoke," Diana sighed. "Give him time." She turned to the other man. "You must be Barry. I'm Diana." She held out her hand with a smile.

Barry smiled back, taking her hand. "Hi, Barry, I'm Diana." A beat. "That's not right. Great." He turned to Rose. "I guess you already know who I am."

Rose snickered. "Yeah." She held out her own hand. "Name's Rose." He shook her hand, an awkward smile on his face. She turned to the other man. "And you are..."

"Bruce Wayne. Pleasure to meet you." He shook her hand as well.

"So this is us," Diana said, looking between them.

Bruce began to reply, but was cut off by Barry, who was pointing excitedly in the distance.

"Oh! Awesome!" He crowed. "That's the Bat Signal! That's your—oh, shh, sorry," he lowered his voice. "That's your signal. We have to go now."

Sighing in exasperation, Bruce nodded. "Yes, that's what that means."

"That's so _cool_!"

The four of them walked off, and Bruce, who led the small group, glanced back at Rose. "I assume you brought your... gear?"

Rose nodded, a small smirk forming on her lips. "Of course. What do you take me for?" She tightened her grip on the worn duffle bag as they walked, unsure of what was ahead.


	3. Rise Up

**I do not own the DCEU.**

 _"I am flesh and I am bone_

 _Rise up, ting ting, like glitter and gold,_

 _I've got fire in my soul_

 _Rise up, ting ting, like glitter… "_

 _—Glitter & Gold by Barns Courtney_

* * *

Rose cracked her neck as she stepped toward the man that had raised the Bat Signal. Thunder cracked, lightning flashed, and the wind howled, and Rose couldn't help but think it was all a little dramatic, but that was the superhero life, she supposed. She kept one hand on the hilt of her sword, the other keeping her hair out of the way.

"How many of you are there?" The man asked once the four of them had come together on top of the roof.

"Not enough," Bruce replied stoically, his voice deeper and gravelly to obscure his identity.

The man sighed. "Eight people abducted from or near STAR Labs," he began, showing them a crude drawing of a dark, winged creature. "Here's the potential perp."

"Parademons," Diana said simply.

Barry's eyes widened. "Okay," he said simply.

 _Sure,_ Rose thought to herself, nodding her head from side to side. _Why not?_

"The demons must have got the sent of the Mother Box," Diana explained. "They carried people away to find out what they know."

"So the eight might still be alive," Bruce theorized. Rose let out a breath of relief. Death was never something she could take easily. It was something she hated the most about this world, that people could be so easily torn from their families.

"Nine," came another voice, startling everyone. Looking over, Rose saw a tall man landing on the roof with a _thud,_ most of his body replaced by machinery. _He must be the Cyborg._

"The head of STAR Labs was taken as well," he continued, walking toward them.

"You made it," Diana said, a small smile on her face. She turned back to the rest, her face set in a serious mask once more. "So then, there must be a nest nearby."

The older man shook his head. "I plotted all the sightings in Metropolis, Gotham… no pattern I can see." He held out a map to the group. "The lines on the map don't converge."

"On land," the Cyborg said, grabbing the proffered paper. "These lead back to Braxton Island, between the two cities."

"Gotham Harbor," Bruce rumbled in agreement. "These are air vents... they all lead down to the tunnel from Metropolis—project that was abandoned in '29."

When the man glanced behind them, Rose looked to Diana, who jerked her head back. It was time to go. Quickly, Rose braced her legs, and leaped, jumping cleanly onto the roof of the next building.

* * *

They dropped down into the tunnel, and Rose eyed the place with distaste.

"Well, isn't this homey?" She muttered. Barry snickered next to her.

"Where are we Alfred?" Bruce talked into his earpiece, ignoring the two.

 _"Braxton Island,"_ came Alfred's short reply. _"You should be directly under the venting tower for the tunnel."_

Rose looked around, frowning.

 _"Now, look to your left,"_ he continued, _"you should see a staircase. It will give you access to the machine room."_

The group made their way up the aforementioned staircase, but when they reached the top, it wasn't really what they had been expecting. The walkway cut off for a good meter or two out, before it continued again.

"Define access," the Cyborg (he had told Rose his name was Victor) murmured as he took in the sight before them.

Bruce looked back at them. "One at a time," he ordered. "The bridge may not—"

There was a crack of lightning as Barry sped across. Diana followed, leaping across, and Rose followed suit. Bringing out a grappling hook, Bruce swung across the gap. They crouched by the entrance to the machine room as Victor flew across, where they had front row seats to Steppenwolf interrogating the scientists.

"You've been near the Mother Box," Rose could hear him say as he lifted a man by the front of his shirt. "The scent is on you."

"Please," the man begged, "we have families!"

Steppenwolf frowned. "Why does everyone keep telling me that?" He threw the man into the wall. "Useless!" He picked up another man with one hand. "You, then! Where is my Mother Box?"

"I'll die before I tell you."

"At last," Steppenwolf said, and Rose could _hear_ the smirk in his voice. "One that doesn't whine. But you will scream."

Rose looked over when she heard machinery moving, and she saw Victor turning his arm into a gun to aim at Steppenwolf. Before Rose could warn him to not, Victor fired, sending a pulse of energy at Steppenwolf and the man he held hostage.

"Dad!" Victor called, holding the man in his arms. Suddenly, Rose could sympathize. That man was his family. Her eyes widened when she saw that Steppenwolf was rising again.

"Ah, he said. "You were born of her. A creature of chaos."

Victor looked up at him, his face ever calm, but his eyes a sea of emotions. "Not how I see it."

"Give it time."

Victor fired another pulse of energy at Steppenwolf, and the others flew into action. Rose and Diana both unsheathed their swords, leaping toward the Parademons flanking him. A pulse of red energy was fired at her, but it did nothing more than push her a few steps backward. Grinning, Rose swung her sword and threw it at the Parademon that shot at her. It flew threw its stomach and embedded in the wall.

"Dammit," Rose hissed. She hadn't thought that one through. As two Parademons flew at her, she grabbed them both by the arms and knocked their heads together, knocking them out before throwing them into the other giant bugs. She bounded over to the wall, wrenching her sword out. Looking behind her, she noticed one of the Parademons getting the jump on Bruce. He called something out to Alfred, but Rose had no idea what. Shrugging, she grabbed the Parademon by the face and shoved her sword through its chest.

"You're welcome," she called over her shoulder as she turned to fight once more. She threw herself right into the thick of it, punching and slicing and stabbing and throwing wherever she could, even kicking every once and a while. Suddenly, there were large clanging noises, and the whole ground shook. Rose followed the noise, blanching when she saw Bruce in a large machine with legs that was climbing up the walls

"Sorry guys, I didn't bring a sword," he quipped.

Rose sighed. "Jesus Christ," she mumbled. Glancing down, she noticed Barry and Diana on the ground. "Shit," she said, louder this time, and jumped down with them. When she got down there, Barry was being carted away by two Parademons.

Diana glanced in the younger woman's direction, and Rose nodded.

"I've got it."

Tossing her sword to her left hand, she sliced the wings off the Parademons before stabbing them both in the chests. They fell to the ground with Barry underneath them, and Rose picked her teammate up by the arm.

"Dude," she told him, "we've gotta teach you how to fight. This is ridiculous."

Barry laughed nervously. "Well, I mean, I've never—"

Rose clapped a hand on his shoulder, cutting him off. "I know this great place in Brooklyn. I'll show it to you once we survive all this."

"I—I'll hold you to that," Barry responded with a sheepish smile.

Suddenly, the big bug machine-thing fired two missiles over their heads at Steppenwolf. Unfortunately, he managed to catch them midair and throw them into the wall. The explosion shook the whole tunnel.

"What are we under right now?" Barry asked.

Rose felt her heart drop when she remembered their rooftop conversation from earlier. "Oh, God..."

"Gotham Harbor," Bruce responded, making the same connections as the rest of them.

Water crashed in through the hole from the missile, filling up the tunnel rapidly. Bruce grabbed Barry, slinging an arm around his shoulder as the two began to walk out. Grunting, Rose strode toward them and picked Barry up, slinging his arm around her shoulders and lifting him off the ground.

"You guys were walking too slow," she remarked tersely.

"You all need to move!" Victor called from within Bruce's machine.

Instead of retreating, Diana stood her ground, crouching defensively. "You get him out."

"We don't have time for this, Diana!" Rose called over her shoulder. "Let's go!"

"Also among my fears is drowning!" Barry said, his voice betraying his panic. Rose found herself agreeing silently. She'd never admit to being afraid out loud, but having never left Brooklyn before, she never really had the chance to learn how to swim. She wasn't sure she wanted to find out if she knew from before.

"You are a distraction," Steppenwolf told them from across the steady stream of water flooding the tunnel. "Mother is calling." There was a beam of white light, and he was sucked into it, out of the tunnel.

They had all made it to the Nightcrawler, except for Diana.

"Hurry!" Rose yelled. "Diana, get over here!"

As the older woman ran toward them, a man sprang suddenly from the water. With a loud yell, he thrust his weapon (was that a trident?) into the ground. A bright light erupted from it, somehow keeping the water at bay.

"Holy shit," Rose murmured softly. She was startled back to their own predicament when the Nightcrawler jolted, beginning to climb upwards. Nearby, Diana shoved her sword into the window in order to hold on. On her other side, one of Barry's arms slipped. Rose shoved her own sword into the window, wrapping one of her hands around the bottom of the hilt.

"Hold on!" She told Barry, gesturing to the sword. He immediately grabbed it, his knuckles turning white with effort. Glancing down again, Rose realized with a wince that the man who had been holding back the water had been overpowered.

The Nightcrawler shuddered and slowed to a stop a few meters above the rushing water. A few seconds later, Victor burst out from within it and flew off, leaving them there.

"Did he just bail?" Barry asked.

* * *

Rose stood with Diana while Bruce talked with the man from the roof again—his name was Commissioner Gordon, they told her—when the other man who had held back the water made his appearance.

"Dressed like a bat," he remarked to Bruce. "I dig it." He shot a smirk at Rose, who couldn't help snorting at his blunt words.

"So uh," Bruce cleared his throat, "what made you change your mind?"

"Steppenwolf," was his short reply. "He took the box from Atlantis."

Rose rubbed her hand over her face. "Christ," she muttered. "Today just keeps getting better and better."

Diana sighed at Rose but nodded nonetheless. "All he needs now is the lost Box of Man."

"If he doesn't already," Rose retorted, shoving her sword into its sheath and crossing her arms.

"He doesn't have it," Victor said, appearing suddenly, Mother Box in hand.

Rose clenched her fists, jabbing a finger in Victor's direction. "Dude, you've got to stop doing that!"

Barry snickered, Diana sighed, and even Bruce cracked a smile. The man from the water merely eyed her with furrowed brows.

* * *

Arthur Curry looked the strange woman with the samurai-type armor and sword. She definitely seemed familiar to him, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

 _What if she's_ _—_

He shook his head stiffly as if that could rid him of the thoughts within his head. It wasn't something he could dwell on, anyways. He had to help protect Earth _and_ Atlantis. His hands were full already.

* * *

Bruce had taken them... somewhere. Rose had no idea where they were, but she knew it was dark and pretty chilly. Rose shivered, pulling the sleeves of her hoodie over her hands. She was incredibly grateful they had taken the time to change out of their gear; her armor had grown wet and heavy.

"Wow, it's like a cave!" Barry gushed before zipping off with a crack of lightning, exploring the area. "Like a _Bat Cave!_ " He sped off again, sitting in what must have been the Batmobile. Rose snickered. Barry was like an overactive child.

Bruce groaned. "Barry," he snapped.

"My father called it the change engine," Victor explained as they walked, the Mother Box in his hands. "It was found by the British during World War I. They studied it, but they couldn't even date it. It's so old. It was shelved, until the night Superman died. Then she lit up like Christmas. They brought it to STAR Labs, where my father recognized it as a perpetual energy matrix." He set it on a table.

"Oh, that sounds cool," Barry piped up. "I-I thought it was, like, a nuclear bomb."

"A Mother Box destroys as it creates," was Victor's reply. "It's a cycle of life, but a million times faster. My father thought it was the key to unlimited energy."

"Huh," Rose said, examining the box closely with narrowed eyes. "This is wild."

Victor chuckled, continuing, "He thought they could change the world—new formulas, cellular regeneration. But it's too volatile to control."

"He used it on you," Bruce pointed out.

Victor said nothing for a moment. "I was in an accident," he told them eventually. "I should've died. My father thought that he could use the Mother Box to rebuild the broken parts of me with a few cybernetic enhancements. Instead, he built a living machine. I may be stronger than its host."

"Too much," Bruce spoke up. "Too much life."

Rose raised an eyebrow. "Care to share with the class?" She asked him.

The water man (Rose never had the chance to talk to him) nodded, motioning at her with one arm. "Yeah, what's on your weird mind?"

"Muscles. Coordination. Basic cellular integrity. A human being can only absorb so much." Bruce walked around the table, examining both Victor and the Mother Box. "The Mother Box was designed to reshape a planet."

"So?"

" _So_ , what if you were stronger than a planet?" Bruce asked. "Your cells lying dormant, but incapable of decay. If you were in a conductive field, a boost from the Mother Box..."

"Could bring _him_ back to life," Barry finished. Rose glanced between the two men, not quite grasping the situation.

"The Kryptonian ship has an amniotic chamber, which would be a perfect—"

"No," Diana said immediately.

"Yeah," Rose added. "I might not entirely know what you guys are talking about, but resurrecting a man sounds _not_ smart."

"Diana, Rose," Bruce protested.

"Bruce, no," Diana answered firmly. "You have no idea what kind of power you're dealing with."

"Even if there's a _fraction_ of a chance—"

"That what?" Diana crossed her arms. "That we could raise a monster? Like Luthor did?"

"We have tech that Luthor's never even _seen_!"

Rose snorted. _Stellar argument._

"Superman is dead," Diana said with finality. "We all wish he weren't."

Bruce was quick to rebuttal. "We don't know _what_ state he's in. We know we can't bring him back. But this is science beyond our limits. And that's what science is for. To do what's never been done. To make life better."

"Or to end it," argued Diana. "Technology is like any other power: without reason, without heart, it destroys us. You're risking lives." She glanced to the others standing in the room. "Their's, and maybe countless more."

"We don't have time for a control group. Is is a risk? Yes, but it's necessary."

"Why?!" Diana demanded. "Because of your guilt?" She took a breath, composing yourself. "Bruce, I was there. You didn't kill Superman."

Rose leaned over to the man she still didn't know the name of (she really needed to work on that). "What are they talking about?"

He looked down at her, raising a scarred eyebrow. "You been livin' under a rock or something?"

Pursing her lips, Rose thought about how she had barely made any human contact for the next several years after she lost Nathan and Emily, only going outside to work or to get food. She didn't even use her TV or her phone during that time. "Something like that." She glanced back to Bruce and Diana, who were still arguing.

"—Steve Trevor tell you that?" She caught Bruce say, and she could tell by the look on Diana's face that that was a mistake. She shoved Bruce back, knocking him into a stack of crates.

"I'm Rose, by the way," she told the man, turning away from a potentially nuclear argument. "Rose Young."

The man's face went slack, and he openly stared at her with wide eyes. "You," he managed after a moment. "Rose?"

"… yeah?"

"No, Rose," the man shook his head vigorously, putting his hands on her shoulders, ignoring how she stiffened. He looked into her eyes, seemingly searching for something. "I-it's me—Arthur. Arthur Curry."

Her heart in her throat, Rose took a step back, managing to escape Arthur's grip (he was stronger than any normal human she'd ever met, she noted). "Sorry," she told him uneasily, "I don't know who you are."

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Oooh, plot twist! Arthur already knows Rose!**

 **I hope you guys are enjoying this so far! I'll try to have the next chapter out soon, but in the meantime, enjoy this unusually long (for me, at least) chapter. Also, thanks a ton to anyone who's shown support for this story; you guys are my main inspiration to continue this story (aside from my love for this movie)! I'm trying to not rush everything so much, as is one of my bad habits when I write, so let me know if something's going to slow or too fast!**

 **Love,**

 **Nell**


	4. Guiding Light

**I do not own the DCEU.**

 _"Well I know I had it all on the line,_

 _But don't just sit with folded hands and become blind_

 _'Cause even when there is no star in sight,_

 _You'll always be my only guiding light."_

 _—Guiding Light by Mumford and Sons_

* * *

 **Amnesty Bay, 1999**

 _Arthur had known the Young family for most of his life. His father was close friends with the younger couple, and so by default, he was often stuck with their daughter, Rose. Rose Jin Young seemed like an okay kid, and she seemed excited to have a friend. From what he knew, she didn't have many. She was a few years younger than him, but she was surprisingly_ not _annoying for a twelve-year-old._

 _"Arthur!" Rose called as he walked down the beach from where she stood knee-deep in the waves. She waved wildly with one arm, her most prized possession tucked under her other arm. "Surf with me!" She lifted her board for emphasis. It was an old thing; faded from years of use. Arthur was pretty sure she had learned to surf before she learned to walk._

 _Huffing out a laugh, Arthur waded into the water until he stood next to her. "I think I'll pass on that, Ro," he said, chuckling tiredly. "I'll leave the professional surfing to you." He didn't tell her that he was tired from training with Vulko; he wasn't supposed to tell anyone about that._

 _Rose grinned. "Suit yourself," she shot back._

 _Still laughing, Arthur shoved Rose gently. "It's pretty late anyway," he commented, "what are you still doing out here?"_

 _"I," Rose cleared her throat, glancing down at the water that lapped around their calves. "I think my parents are getting a divorce."_

 _Arthur blinked. How did you respond to something like that? It wasn't like he had much experience_ _—h_ _is own mother had been sent to her death before he had the chance to really meet her. It wasn't really the same thing._

 _"Oh_ _—that sucks," he offered eventually. "Are you sure?"_

 _"Yeah," Rose muttered. "Mom 'n' dad keep fighting, and it's getting worse every night. Mom finally started talking about a lawyer yesterday."_

 _Arthur put a hand on her wetsuit-clad shoulder. "Hey," he told her, hoping he was doing it right. He had never been that good at that whole 'comforting' thing. "It'll be okay. You'll still be here, right?" Rose nodded slowly. "See, there you go! You've got that going for you. You'll still have the ocean. And me, of course."_

 _A small smile flitted across Rose's face. "You promise?" She asked, looking at him with wide eyes._

 _"Cross my heart, and hope to die," he said, smirking. "I'd never lie to you, Ro."_

 _If Arthur had known what would happen the next day, he would have told Rose to come to his home that night, that she should take a break from her parents and their arguing. That he hadn't seen her much, and they had catching up to do. Something. Anything. Because anything would have been better than what happened._

 _The next morning, on July tenth, 1999, Arthur found his father watching the news with rapt attention._

 _"G'morning" He said, cramming a piece of toast into his mouth. His father turned to him, a grave look on his face, and Arthur furrowed his brows. "What is it?"_

 _Tom Curry glanced from his son to the television. "You... you might wanna sit down when you see this," he told him after a moment._

 _The pit of dread in Arthur's stomach grew deeper as he cautiously walked over to his dad, each step feeling heavier than the last. "Dad seriously, what's going o_ _—" He stopped when he saw the picture on the television screen. The image of an all-too-familiar young girl stared back at him, grinning toothily._

 _"As of today, Rose Jin Young is missing," the woman on the news said. "If anybody has any information regarding her, we urge you to contact the authorities immediately."_

 _Arthur felt as if his heart had plummeted to his feet. He scrambled over to the television, using the buttons to turn up the volume._

 _"Again," the news anchor said, a look of artificial grief on her face for a young girl she never even knew, "Young and his wife were found dead in their house, which was subsequently ransacked, and their daughter, Rose, has been declared missing. There is no suspect currently, so anyone who knows anything should contact the police as soon as they can." She continued, moving on to the next story, but Arthur couldn't hear her anymore. He could feel his face growing hot, and his eyes were becoming wet as they welled with tears. He refused to let them fall; if he did, he knew that Rose would tease him relentlessly about it._

 _God,_ Rose _._

 _Arthur stumbled to the couch, sat down, and held his head in his hands. How did this happen? It couldn't be possible. There was no way. He talked to her just last night. There was a hand on his shoulder, and he could faintly hear his father talking to him. Finally, he could no longer hold his tears back the same way he could hold back the tide._

* * *

 **Gotham City, 2017**

Arthur felt his heart drop to his stomach. After years of wondering what had happened to Rose, wondering if she was even still _alive,_ he had found her. He had found her, but there was one problem.

 _"I don't know who you are."_

He opened his mouth, but he shut it again. What could he say? He clenched his jaw, looking to the side.

Rose winced, as if she could tell how much this was hurting him. "I-it's not just you," she backpedaled. "It's everything."

Arthur furrowed his eyebrows, looking at her incredulously. "Everything?" He asked. How did someone just forget everything?

Opening her mouth, Rose began to speak again when—

"We are _not enough!_ " Bruce shouted to everyone in the room. Arthur shot a quick glance back to Rose, who mouthed, _I'll tell you later._ He nodded gruffly. If he were being honest, he'd rather have this conversation right there and now, but he knew there were more pressing matters.

"Each of you of us in our own way has held back," Bruce continued, his voice calmer now, but holding the same gravity as before. "And I promise you, Steppenwolf is not out there talking about ethics. He's trying to burn down the world. The way we're gonna stop him is by using his power. This power," he jabbed a finger at the Mother Box, still resting idly on the table before them, "—against him."

"I agree," Victor commented. His arms were crossed as he looked from the box to Bruce. "I don't like the idea of reintegrating with the Mother Box, but I was running the numbers while you were being an asshole—" (Rose snorted, earning a glare from Bruce) "—and there's a high probability that we can bring him back."

"Right, right," Barry said quickly, "but we mean bring him back in, like, a 'Yay, he's back!' way, not a... _Pet Cemetery_ scenario?"

Rose snorted again, pointing to Barry. "Yeah, I agree. I don't wanna be the Igor to your Frankenstein." She stepped forward, coming closer to the group. At the looks she received, she crossed her arms in defense. "What? I read." Arthur chuckled fondly from behind her. Same old Rose, even after all this time.

"You lose something when you die," he spoke up, following behind her, "even Superman. Maybe not his mind: maybe his soul." Rose looked up at him, her forehead wrinkling as she considered his words.

"I'll have a contingency plan for that," Bruce replied, nodding slightly.

"If he wakes up, and you're the first thing he sees, you'll need one," Diana told him as she walked past him, effectively ending the conversation.

Arthur turned back to Rose. "I think this is 'later,'" he said, crossing his arms. Sighing, Rose nodded, agreeing. She jerked her head to the side, silently signaling to walk away from the rest.

"All right," she murmured once they were far enough. "Are you sure you want to know everything?" She asked him, frowning.

"Yes," Arthur said shortly, and Rose felt taken back. Why would a man she'd known for less than a few hours be okay with her dumping her (partial) life story on her? Even if they knew each other before, he had to know that she wasn't the same Rose all those years ago. Hell, why was she even agreeing to tell him this? She'd never talked to anyone about it before. But... there was something that felt oddly welcoming with Arthur Curry. Maybe it was from knowing him before, maybe it was just a gut feeling, but Rose decided to trust it. After all, she had a similar feeling with Emily and Nathan Miller.

She swallowed, hugging herself. "Uh, well, the first day I remember is December eighth, 2005." She glanced down, eyeing her forearm. "Um, I-I was in an alley in Brooklyn, wearing nothing but a hospital gown and a patient band. "A couple found me and had, dunno, pity on me, I guess? Either way, they took me in and raised me like I was their kid. It was amazing..." She let her arms fall to her side as she trailed off, glancing back to Arthur. The man was alternating between looking her dead in the eyes and the floor, his jaw tight and his hands shoved into his coat pockets.

"It was amazing, but they were killed a few years after they took me in," she said lowly, glancing to the ceiling, trying to keep her eyes from growing moist.

"So," Arthur grumbled, clearing his throat, "how did you end up," he gestured to her, "like this?"

Rose smiled wryly. She rolled up her sleeve, holding up her forearm so Arthur could read the words forever marked there. He grabbed her arm, bringing it closer to his face.

"Project Cadmus?" He asked. "What's that?"

"I don't know," Rose told him, shaking her head. "And believe me, I've tried to find out for years. All I know is that they _did_ something to me." She looked at Arthur, studying his face before holding out her hand.

"What?" He furrowed his eyebrows.

"You know what. Gimme."

Rolling his eyes, Arthur handed over the small knife he had pocketed earlier. Rose took it, and immediately stabbed herself in the arm. Arthur reacted almost immediately, wrenching the knife from her hand.

"What the hell, Ro?!" He bellowed. "Why would you do th—how are you not _bleeding?_ " He examined her arm all over, but he couldn't find any blood, nor any evidence that she had attempted to stab herself in the first place.

Rose furrowed her eyebrows at the nickname but decided to ignore it. "Whatever Cadmus was, they did something to me," she murmured. "I'm not the same person you knew, Arthur, I- I'm—"

"Rose, last time I saw you, you were _twelve._ I was, like fourteen," Arthur told her. "I knew that if I ever found you again, you'd have changed. I've changed, too."

Rose smiled at the man who claimed to know her, feeling like part of the weight resting on her shoulders had been lifted.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **I know this is kind of just filler, but I've been pressed for time recently with school. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. The next one should be out soon!**

 **Also, thanks so much to everyone who's shown their support thus far! Your follows, favorites, and kind words mean a lot!**

 **Love,**

 **Nell**


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